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HERE’S SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT - A TRANCHE OF NEW KIT AND SYSTEMS LAUNCHED SO FAR THIS YEAR FOR THE LARGE-FORMAT DIGITAL INKJET PRINT SECTOR.


Let’s be honest, you’re trying to sweat your assets. The 2024 Widthwise survey of 100 UK-based PSPs proved it - investment levels are nothing to write home about. But that’s not to say the kit and systems suppliers aren’t trying their best to encourage you to spend. And perhaps you should - take a look at this round-up of introductions so far this year. It doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive catalogue, but it does flag up key developments.


AGFA 905m2 5m printer, that runs at 672m2 flatbed printer with robots and a top speed of 1450m2


/hr printer for high load Hybrid production; Jeti Condor RTR5200 /hr; and the Onset Grizzly X HS series /hr.


Note too the SpeedSet Orca 1060, launched in December 2023 but


only available in the UK from this June. The single-pass printer runs up to 11000 B1 boards per hour, the first in the UK having gone to Delta.


CANON It was at the start of the year that Canon announced its imagePrograf GP large-format printers. The series comprises three models: the 60in/1524mm imagePrograf GP-6600S and the 44in/1118mm GP-4600S, which replace the imagePrograf Pro-6100S and Pro-4100S respectively, and the 24in/610mm GP-2600S. All the above, which have been commercially available since March 2024 in EMEA, use a new Lucia Pro II inkset, are said to hit 96% of Pantone colours, and have improved colourfastness so that the prints can be potentially preserved for up to 200 years. In line with Canon’s goal of improving the environmental footprint of its products and operations, it has reduced the amount of expanded polystyrene packaging material used for the new series - for example, 89.5% less polystyrene foam is used for the GP-4600S than for its predecessor. Power consumption has also been reduced. Amid a number of introductions across various print markets made


by Canon at Drupa were innovations for its Colorado M-series printer, including FLXture, a five-ink-layer printing technology that adds micro- texture to large-format prints. A recipe in Prismaguide XL software prepares the layers of UVgel ink for printing. FLXture is available for new installations, as well as current users, on the latest software releases for the Colorado printer and Prismaguide XL. By the way, the entire UVgel roll-to-roll Colorado printer range is now compatible with SAi Flexi Complete design, print and cut software, capable of driving up to five printers simultaneously and any number of cutters.


Fespa Global 2024 saw Agfa introduce a number of large-format printers with animal themed names. The Anapurna Ciervo H3200 is the first fast - 208m2


/hr - entry level


printer in the Agfa range, the first UK install being at Freestyle. Next, speed-wise, at 248m2


/hr, is the Jeti Bronco H3300 hybrid printer. The other newcomers launched at the show were: the Tauro H3300UHS, a


Also showing at Drupa was a new UVgel Packaging System, comprising a Colorado M5W roll-to-roll printer with a Fotoba jumbo roll media loader


www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 13


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